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amkenney's review against another edition
4.0
This book had me crying by chapter 3. I love the way Nora Roberts writes, keep a story moving, develops her characters. This book about a mass shooting and the way if affected the survivors' lives going forward was intense and heart rending.
jdotzapskiwi's review against another edition
5.0
This book got me out of a major reading slump and propelled me back to the hobby I love!
It's a difficult subject matter: a mass shooting at a public mall in Maine told from the points of view of teenagers who were witnesses and victims. The pace of the story is quick and, all told, the book covers over 15-plus years of the lives of the main characters. There is a sinister thread that snakes its way through the plot and the story in Shelter in Place. It's creepy and even disturbing at times, but it makes for a wonderfully heightened sense of intrigue.
Some other favorite points of mine:
*The art. Two of the main characters are artists and I got caught up in the lovely, vivid descriptions of their work.
*The dog. I am a huge fan of any story that includes a dog--especially one as adorable and loveable as the one created in this book!
*The follow-able depth. In a lot of books, more and more characters are introduced and put into play and I find myself getting confused, having to shuffle back through pages to try and remember who was who. Shelter in Place includes a vast canvas of characters, but they all felt like they belonged and were created in a way that was easy to track. Very skillfully done!
As odd as it feels to say that I enjoyed a book about a horrible mass shooting, I did. And I think the reason that I enjoyed it so much is that the characters came to life for me. They were more than victims--they were survivors who refused to allow their lives to be swallowed up by hatred and violence.
It's a difficult subject matter: a mass shooting at a public mall in Maine told from the points of view of teenagers who were witnesses and victims. The pace of the story is quick and, all told, the book covers over 15-plus years of the lives of the main characters. There is a sinister thread that snakes its way through the plot and the story in Shelter in Place. It's creepy and even disturbing at times, but it makes for a wonderfully heightened sense of intrigue.
Some other favorite points of mine:
*The art. Two of the main characters are artists and I got caught up in the lovely, vivid descriptions of their work.
*The dog. I am a huge fan of any story that includes a dog--especially one as adorable and loveable as the one created in this book!
*The follow-able depth. In a lot of books, more and more characters are introduced and put into play and I find myself getting confused, having to shuffle back through pages to try and remember who was who. Shelter in Place includes a vast canvas of characters, but they all felt like they belonged and were created in a way that was easy to track. Very skillfully done!
As odd as it feels to say that I enjoyed a book about a horrible mass shooting, I did. And I think the reason that I enjoyed it so much is that the characters came to life for me. They were more than victims--they were survivors who refused to allow their lives to be swallowed up by hatred and violence.
nbronec's review against another edition
4.0
The beginning of the book was very hard to listen/read because of the subject matter. But after the initial shock I enjoyed the "read".
jazzijessi's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Typical Nora Roberts. LCD. About a mass shooting, so lots of trigger warnings required.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Violence, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, and Murder
litreader's review against another edition
4.0
I really appreciate that Nora ventured outside her comfort zone here.
whatanovelworld's review against another edition
5.0
I just love her and her writing style. Love how she weaves mystery with romance yet with strong fema lead characters.
ampersandinc's review against another edition
4.0
This book is classic Nora. It’s the story of the survivors of a mall shooting, with a thriller twist thrown in. Per usual the art featured in cringe-inducingly bad, but it was a fun read nonetheless!
rwbrock's review against another edition
4.0
3.5/5⭐️
While this was a “pick” for me, it’s not a favorite from her. Not sure why, although it was a little too long and drawn out, and I didn’t connect as well with her characters as I usually do.
This revolves around the trauma and aftermath of a mall shooting and how years later someone is out to take revenge on those who survived. Violence (obviously) involved.
While this was a “pick” for me, it’s not a favorite from her. Not sure why, although it was a little too long and drawn out, and I didn’t connect as well with her characters as I usually do.
This revolves around the trauma and aftermath of a mall shooting and how years later someone is out to take revenge on those who survived. Violence (obviously) involved.
qdblue2000's review against another edition
5.0
This book hit so many emotions on the emotion scale. A tragedy at a mall to a psychopath in the run.
This book feeds a story line more like the JD Robb series and I highly recommend it if you like suspense based stories.
This book feeds a story line more like the JD Robb series and I highly recommend it if you like suspense based stories.
lily_pearl's review against another edition
3.0
Not my favorite, but not bad. Great title for the times we find ourselves in.
One thing I need to highlight, mostly because I just watched a television show that had the exact same problem... If you have a character that has some level of accomplishment, and another character, specifically a parent, hates them, there needs to be a good reason why. Simone's mother's behavior towards Simone didn't make a lick of sense to me because it wasn't explained. I was left with the assumption that Simone's mom (Tulip) was just a raging b**** who seemed to have a rather charmed life through no apparent effort of her own and for some reason, she had to hate her "weird, artsy" daughter. Highly discordant element of the book that was really glaring overall.
One thing I need to highlight, mostly because I just watched a television show that had the exact same problem... If you have a character that has some level of accomplishment, and another character, specifically a parent, hates them, there needs to be a good reason why. Simone's mother's behavior towards Simone didn't make a lick of sense to me because it wasn't explained. I was left with the assumption that Simone's mom (Tulip) was just a raging b**** who seemed to have a rather charmed life through no apparent effort of her own and for some reason, she had to hate her "weird, artsy" daughter. Highly discordant element of the book that was really glaring overall.